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WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? On this wet fall day, I’m stuck inside and thinking ahead. The “season” or forest activity right now for me is hunting. The next one following that is maple sugaring which normally occurs in February & March. And that got me thinking back toContinue Reading

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WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? The maple sugaring season is full-steam ahead right now. I better enjoy it while it lasts. Looking at the 10-day forecast in central Ulster County shows the day-time highs creeping into the upper 50s/lower 60s and evening lows above freezing. Freezing nights are aContinue Reading

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WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? Finally tapped into the 2021 maple sugaring season. The weather later this weekend into next week is beginning to warm up. Temperatures will be into the upper 30s/low 40s in central Ulster County while freezing at night, and that means sap should be flowing.Continue Reading

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WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? Last week I posted how the 2020 maple sugaring season had begun in central Ulster County (for me). Well, the first few days were giving that old “sap snow.” Sap snow is when it’s snowing, temperatures are in the mid-30s or so and theContinue Reading

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WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? Well, I tapped my trees on Monday, January 6th. Later that night, they ran over 1 gallon per tap at about 2.6% sugar content or 32 gallons of sap to 1 gallon of syrup. I realize it’s awfully early, but the forecast later inContinue Reading

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WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? Looking at the weather forecast in central Ulster County and the high & low temps are looking like great maple sugaring weather (if it was February or March). The problem is that it’s November! Some people–believe it or not–haven’t been able to wait thatContinue Reading

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WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? Monday, February 4th marked the opening of the 2019 maple season in Samsonville, Ulster County; Nearly 1 week later than last year’s start. Last week’s cold temperatures make it seem unbelievable, but the forecast is showing milder weather and today will be in theContinue Reading

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WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? Sometimes the maple season comes to a halt because the day-time temperatures aren’t warm enough. Sometimes, it’s because the evening temperatures are too warm; Both conditions cause the sap to stop flowing. Sometimes the season stops due to a lack of energy on theContinue Reading

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WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? My sapwood pile has noticeably shrunk with all this maple sap boiling, which makes me wonder how much wood my little evaporator eats to spit out some maple syrup. Well, so far it’s roughly 1/2 cord to 5 gallons of syrup. “Sapwood” consists ofContinue Reading